no sewing ...

There is no time for sewing at the moment as I am hiding behind the books. If I am not I am on the way with the kids to rugby matches, chess tournaments or minding a sick child at home.

I have a plan to finish the Nordik circles so back to printing and cutting paper.

Modern Stitching Bee March

On Sunday I had time to finally dig into Bee blocks. First I had to finish the blocks for Annabella. Somehow the blocks did not do themselves so I had to make them. Annabella asked for "Gee's Bend inspired improv. square within a square blocks" - Log Cabin with a curve. 

Do not ask me how theI had already started the first one and if I would have measured both sides, the block would have been already done. I have no clue why log cabin feels like so much work and at the end they came together so easy.

I had to repeat some fabrics. I love blue but my stash does not really have a lot and green is so absolutely not my color. It was fun to make them and they should arrive tomorrow. So sorry for the delay! 
As the sewing machine was out and some time left I also made the blocks for Di. She asked for  "plus block with a scrappy low volume background". Low volume was easy to make but she also aksed for "fruity and jewel tones" which brought me back to the dictionary. To be on the safe side and after a little chat we decided to use a pink fabric for one block - this is really pink Rhonda!

For the second block I used a "Caribbean" blue/green. I think the color is a beauty and do not  know why it was on the shelf unused for such a long time. The block is easy to sew, straight forward and an absolute beauty. 

I hope you love your blocks. I really love the look of both! 
Two blocks done and two more to go. Looks like I am back on track ....

Hello Cherry

I hardly can resist when one of my girls ask me to make something. Not long ago Sandra was so kind and sent me the "Love Patchwork and Quilting" magazine which was unavailable here. I was delighted when she offered me the extra copy she got. The girls did not want to make the dear from issue two but the little one fell in love with the teddy bear from issue five. How hard can it bee to make a bear? Terrible hard! The easiest part was to chose the fabrics. Pink with cherries and flowers. This could look quite cute.

I traced the templates to freezer paper and my little helper was eager to cut them out. I read the cutting instrutions carefully and ironed all templates for Fabric A to Fabric A. Ok, and now? Using 5 mm seam allowance means what? Do you want me to cut along the template or make it 5 mm bigger? After a short research on IG we cut along the template. First step was to assemble the ears. Easy peasy! Moving on to step 7: Making the face. No, that does not work. I am not sure if I might have misses it but there are some templates that need to me mirrored. To assemble the face we needed one right side and one left side. So to make the face you need one "Side Face" and one "Side Face mirrored". So back to cutting and going on to the next step. If I thought now that I can go straight forward and the bear is done in no time ... no way! Of course this mirroring has to be done to all the parts for the right side. Sorry, but that drives me mad! I hate cutting fabric for nothing. It was a nightmare to find out which templates had to be redone.
Anyway somehow we made it to the stuffing part and my little helper was eager to do this herself. She was very carefully not to "make the belly explode like mummies".

In the evening she was a proud Mama to Cherry! She did not let me stitch the nose nor was I allowed to draw a nose. She is happy with her little bear. It is just me that freaks out every time I look at it.

the right arm goes in the wrong direction ... grrrrrrrrr

After making some pets for the kids I think I know the basics how to make stuffed softies. I am able to read a pattern and to assemble the parts but the necessary hints make this much easier. Instructions like "sew together the front" with no sign where the front should be is just annoying. It is very time consuming if you have to turn each part and find out what the instruction means. The next time I might say no to the girls and have a look around in blogland if anyone has a nice tutorial ...

Linking up with MM

Some details to the nerdquilt

It took a long time but finally I found the cable to transfer the pictures I made from the quilt. I loved to play around with the blocks and so did my son. Just let me show you how his room looked like for February when I gave him one block after the other.

On the wall next to his bed we nailed the last piece of batting and stick block after block. When we came to row four there was no more space underneath so he just went to the side. The rook and the cube still look good but to read Einstein's equation you have to turn your head.

The quilt also got quite huge so basting had to be done on the kitchen floor and therefore everything else had to be removed or put to the side. There would be a bigger space in the living room but there is a carpet and it somehow feels not as good as taping the back to the ground.

It was a cold evening when I started quilting but after some rows it good quite warm. For the back we used a grey blanket he chose as we could not find any fleece in a lovely color that would match the front. Baby blue and beige was not really an option so we were glad that we could find a blanket that suited in color and softness.

And the equation was back in the place I had it planed. He did not really learn it in school till now and I am pretty sure he has no clue what it is about but he will find it out later. So my hope is on that the quilt will still be in style when he gets older.

He also might not have seen it till now but I pus some hugs and hearts in as well. I am still the mum so I am allowed to do so :)
Today was one of the first times the rugby was held in sunshine and it was not really cold (The last week I was walking around the pitch quite fast to stay warm while the kids had training) and so I took the opportunity to make some pics. The girls had a training session on the side pitch and the boys were playing Ballinasloe. They had a great time and I could enjoy the sunshine!

Sewing with kids

I was so not in the mood for sewing yesterday but there was this sewing kit I bought on sale for my girl days ago. I already postponed the first session so make freezer paper templates which I finally did this week. So there were no more excuses. We had to make the little owl! As I wanted her to make her own I made a second one for the little sister. I have to say I did not like the fabrics that came with the kit and neither did my girl so we straight went to my stash and started pulling nice fabrics.

They look better on picture and funnily there is not even one fabric as shown on the picture of the box

The kit should be for a 7 year old but to be honest, the instructions were terrible. I mean, I am not a sewing queen but I struggled finding out what to do. How could a 7 year old make this?
In July I got my new sewing machine and actually I never really played with it. Yesterday my girl asked to use the fancy stitches. So when we were asked to attache the tummy to the front we used a simple one for one owl and gorgeous stars for her one. She also wanted to write on the tummy so I  had to find out how to use the Alphabet. She was really helpful and together we managed to give the owls a name.

To be totally honest we also did not like the eyes or better the buttons that came with the kit (looks like we did not like anything than the shape) so we digged deep and from my crochet-phase with Amigurumi I had bear eyes and cat eyes left. She chose the brown ones for her owl and we used the 3D-Liner for the other. They look cute don't they? To get her more into sewing and using the fabrics she buys herself and not only "Mummy, can you make me" I bought this book. Hopefully the instructions there are better as she already complained that it is for a 7 year old! Oh my goodness, a 9 year old can not use a book for a 7 year old!

Linking up with the Monday Makers. Sorry for not writing in German as well today. Somehow I got lazy and skipped translating. Hopefully soon we can link up with a cute project made out of this book.

Modern Quilt Guild Galway

Some days before the first Thursday in a month I get a reminder from Cindy for our little meet up. So yesterday we sat down in a lobby to have a chat, tea/coffe and did a little stitching. We really had a lovely space with lots of light and it was warm and comfy. So actually there was no need to bring my nerd quilt but I promised to show when it is finished. If you want to see more about it have a look at Fluffy Sheep. She also shows the amazing work from Annette which I forgot to take pictures.

And for Cindy, please let me return the favor. She brought her little donation quilt. It is so gorgeous. I love all the charms she used and so many lovely colors. You can not see the binding properly but the little flowers are just sweet. I really love it.

I had my new pouch filled with my paper piecing and my "Nordika" circles to work with. I finally decided I want to make them into a table runner. 

It was so lovely to meet you two yesterday. 

Triple Zipper Pouch Swap

I did it again! I took part in a swap but with all the sewing for my boy I did not really take part in all the conversations. Unfortunately I was late in sending out as well but now it is all done. I already made these triple zipper pouches when they first appeared in blogland but I never made one for myself. Now I am a happy triple zipper pouch owner :) So this is what I made for my partner:

I used some of my favorite fabrics and hope I took the right ones. I love the pigeon fabric and this was the first time I ever used it. The bubbles are just gorgeous. Also the frogs came in use for the first time. I should stop hording fabrics and do what they are bought for: USING! The zippers are different sizes but I tested: my hand fits in all those pockets so I hope my partner does not mind. 

I also received my pouch and I am so delighted with it. Bright colors and the piecing in the bottom is just gorgeous. She also sent me an pin cushion and some ribbons. The pom poms are already planed to be in use for something for my little girl. She just did not tell me what for til now. There was also some chocolate which I already .. no, I did not eat it ... hid for Easter! Thank you so much my dear partner! I love it!

February is gone ..

I feel like I have done nothing in February than making "nerdquilt". Don't get me wrong, it was amazing. I love it! I made my own pattern,  did an awful lot of calculating, a huge number of seams, even paper piecing the root as all the other options did not work and much more! But I love this baby! It is the second night walking into his room seeing him snuggled in this comfy blanked with a little grin.
So this is what February in sewing looks like:

I also made some bee blocks and there is at least one block missing (first thing to be done on Monday morning) but I am happy!

Linking up with